Morbid Identity Crisis
by Shizuru of the Darkness Flame
Summary: Kurama has been having some dreams lately, dreams that make him question his identity and morals. This leaves him feeling very confused, and now that he's got a new hard case to complete with the Tantei, things are gonna get rough... VERY Slight HieiKur.
1. Prologue

**Morbid Identity Crisis**

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**By Shizuru of the Darkness Flame**

**Hello! I'm back with another angsty-ish fanfic! ::sweatdrop:: and so soon, too. My angst muse is staying for quite a while, I suppose... Too bad, though, my humor muse seems to be missing. KiwiChan, where art thou?! **

**KiwiChan - ::off in the ****Bahamas****, lying down on a towel at a sandy beach, drinking mango juice in a hollow coconut with a little umbrella inside:: **

**-.-;; lucky one. I still have some time until my vacation... Anyways, I'd like to thank Kuwabaralover for writing the story (called Dame Yume – read it, it's very good) that gave me the inspiration to write this fanfic! This one's very different from her one, though.**

**OK, ****I'll shut up now, and get on with the prologue... **

Silvery moonlight crept through the window of his room as Kurama stared at his reflection in the mirror. He gazed in wonder at his manifestation: a fifteen year old boy with long, crimson locks, large, forest green eyes and a slender, yet slightly muscular figure. He slowly lifted his hand to the mirror and touched it.

_Is... Is this really me?_

A little more than a decade back, Kurama's soul entered this weak, human body. At first, he thought this 'arrangement' was only going to be temporary. He thought he would be rid of the fragile, pathetic form in no time. But as years passed, Kurama started getting accustomed to the human way of life. Hence, he had not left the body yet. But only recently... Only recently, when he started having those odd, frightening dreams, did Kurama actually think about it.

_Exactly... Exactly who _am _I? Am I Suuichi, the human, a member of the Reikai Tantei, or am I the legendary bandit Youko Kurama?_

Sighing in confusion, Kurama closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side slowly, for once feeling completely lost. He never had trouble with this sort of thing before... So why now? Why now, of all times, did he start having those horrible, haunting dreams, making him question who and what he was? Why did he suddenly start feeling so puzzled, so utterly perplexed? He hated feeling helpless... He was so used to having everything under control, and now that he didn't... He felt awfully unsure, as if some dark shadow would swallow him up any moment now. Kurama opened his eyes, and put a hand on his forehead. It was hot. Hot, and covered with perspiration. Trudging to his bed, he thought, _I'm probably just a little sick. This'll all be fine after I get some sleep.._. Climbing onto it, he pulled up his sheets, got under them, and placed his head lightly on his pillow. _I'll be OK tomorrow... _

Suuichi Minamino/Human Kurama, the top student at Meiou High, probably the smartest member of the Reikai Tantei, and possibly one of the best strategists out there, couldn't have possibly been more wrong.

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**Well... That was the prologue! ::sweatdrop:: short, but the chapters will get longer, I promise. Please review! **


	2. Chapter One

**Morbid Identity Crisis**

****

**By Shizuru of the Darkness Flame**

**Hey, it's me! And I'm back with yet another chapter! Well, actually, not _yet_ another chapter, because this is only the first chapter of my fanfic (the part before this was the prologue)... Thanks for all those who reviewed! ::gives the reviewers a cookie::**

**By the way, this chapter of the story has some _very_ slight HieiKurama hints, so if you don't like that pairing, you can either skip the parts with the hints or leave. Don't flame though... It won't do you any good, since I'll just use the flames to make some chicken burgers... ::is hungry:: **

**Well, on with the story!**

_You're living a lie... _

_You're not even supposed to be here... _

_This isn't who you are..._

_How long do you think you can fool everyone?_

_How long before this deception breaks down right before your eyes?_

_...How long? _

"Hey Kurama, wait up!"

Kurama whirled around to find Yusuke and Kuwabara running to catch up with him.

"Oh... Hello Yusuke, Kuwabara." he said, his eyes staring at the concrete underneath him.

"...What happened to _you?_" asked Yusuke, a slight smirk tugging at the sides of his mouth. "You look like you just saw a ghost. Hah, thought you'd be used to seeing that type of stuff by now..." he joked.

Kurama forced out a smile. "Your classes started about fifteen minutes ago... Didn't you two say you weren't going to skip school anymore?"

Kuwabara put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "Well... About that..."

"URAMESHI!! KUWABARA!! GET BACK HERE!!" yelled the voice of an adult, probably a teacher. His fast paced footsteps could be heard nearing the three teens.

Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes widened. "Oh crap, they found out we're missing!" Yusuke exclaimed. "Gotta go, see ya!" and the two dashed off, in a hurried (and rather clumsy) manner.

Kurama sighed, slightly amused. _Will they ever learn? _Momentarily forgetting about his earlier sub-conscious thoughts, he jogged to school. _I hope I won't be late..._

_Late for what? For that school of yours? Face it; you don't even need to be there. It's a sham, a façade, a fraud!_

_A façade? This isn't a façade at all... I have a new life now, I'm not Youko anymore... _

_Hah! Quit fooling yourself. You know you can't ever be a real human. You _are_ Youko! You can't erase your past! _

_Youko may remain a small part of me, but - _

_But what? You know I'm right... You know you're pretending... You know you're living one big lie... _

_This is no lie, this is the truth! I've started a new existence... _

_A new existence? In your dreams... It never was, and it never will be. _

_Yes it is! I'm no longer the thief I used to be... I'm human now!_

_Trying to overlook your history, are you? I wonder what your old pal Kuronue would say to that... Traitor. _

_...NO!_

Kurama started running at an even faster pace than before, running away from the involuntary thoughts that were penetrating his mind. _Of course it's not true... Why am I even listening? It's nothing... It's really nothing..._

_But what if it _isn't_ nothing? _

==================================

For once, Kurama was finding it hard to concentrate in literature class. It was his favorite class, besides biology, and he usually listened attentively to every word the teacher said, and even participated in discussions. But today, as much as he tried, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering about, and for some reason, it kept wandering to the very same place it did when he was jogging to school earlier that day...

_But what if it _isn't_ nothing? _

Kurama slapped himself mentally. _I shouldn't be thinking about this! This is school! I should be listening to the teacher, not to some foolish thoughts, which are probably just the result of nervousness before the finals... _

The bell rang, and students throughout the school packed up their things and rushed outside for lunchtime. Kurama, slightly distracted by his musings, left the class rather slowly. As he stepped out of the school building, the usual group of squealing girls tried to catch his attention. Not at all in the mood to deal with them, he flashed an award winning smile at the group and walked away as quickly as it was possible to do without seeming rude. Sitting under his usual secluded tree and pulling a sandwich out of his bag, he tried to focus on his food and ignore any subliminal thoughts that might have the nerve to creep into his mind.

Above him, perched on the tree Kurama was sitting under, sat a short, rather well-built, spiky haired demon dressed in clothes as black as midnight. Keeping as silent as a mortuary, the demon watched him eat. _He seems troubled... _He thought. _Hmph. Must be those stupid exams he was going on about. _With that thought in mind, the little demon jumped off the tree's sturdy branch and landed right in front of Kurama.

"Mmmm!"

"Wow, what a welcoming greeting." Hiei remarked sarcastically.

Kurama swallowed the last bits of his sandwich. "Hello Hiei..." he said, sounding a little surprised."What brings you here?"

"Hn." he said, clearly not wanting to admit the fact that he wanted to see Kurama. _We've been together for over a year now, and still, he remains shy..._ Kurama thought, inwardly chuckling. _Being abandoned as an infant still makes it difficult for him to show emotion, I suppose..._Deciding to play around a little with Hiei's refusal to be even a tad sentimental, Kurama grabbed him and pulled him into a tight kiss.

At first, Hiei seemed to be enjoying himself, but when he realized what position he was in, his eyes widened and he pulled away from Kurama, looking very flustered.

"Exactly what do you think you're _doing_, Kurama?!" he exclaimed, his face turning as red as his ruby-colored eyes.

"I thought you loved me, Hiei!" Kurama teased.

"Stupid horny fox..." Hiei grumbled, looking away from Kurama, who laughed lightly at his reaction, and returned to the rest of his lunch.

After a few minutes of silence, in which Kurama ate and Hiei watched him, the little demon decided to speak up. "You seemed... Troubled, earlier." he quietly remarked.

"Hmm?" Kurama looked up. "Oh... That... It's nothing, really... Nothing at all..."

Hiei looked at Kurama, an eyebrow raised, clearly disbelieving him. Out of all the people Kurama knew, Hiei was probably the only one who could tell when Kurama wasn't speaking the whole truth.

"No, really, I'm fine..." Kurama said, trying to mask his insecurity. "I'm probably just nervous about the end of the school year..."

Hiei looked at Kurama straight in the eye, his expression showing that a part of him still didn't fully believe Kurama, but said nothing more. For the rest of Kurama's lunchtime, the two remained silent, the redheaded one trying not to think about anything but his food and his studies, and the raven-haired one wondering what the redhead was avoiding to tell him...

==================================

_Liar._

_Fraud._

_Faker._

_Pretender._

The words echoed in Kurama's mind as he struggled to complete his algebra homework, refusing to let him concentrate for even a mere moment.

_You should be ashamed! _

_You don't _deserve _to be believed!_

_You even lied to Hiei, your partner, your companion, your mate!_

_You're still that rotten thief Youko, and don't deny it!_

"I'm... Not... Youko!" Kurama exclaimed aloud, burying his head in his hands.

"Is everything OK, Suuichi?" Shiori asked, poking her head into Kurama's room from behind the door.

"Yes mother, I'm fine... Just a little trouble with algebra..."

"Maybe you should get some rest?" she suggested. "It's already ten o' clock, and you have a three day weekend coming up..."

"I suppose it could help..."

Shiori smiled at her son, proud of him for being so responsible about his studies. "Well then, goodnight, Suuichi!" she said.

"Goodnight..." 'Suuichi' replied.

Shiori blew a kiss at him, and closed the door.

Sighing, Kurama cleared his desk of his algebra problems and put them in his backpack. Taking off his shirt and tossing it into his basket for dirty clothes, he took a plain white T-shirt and a pair of boxers out of his drawer and put them on. _Maybe some sleep will get my mind off those irritating musings..._ He thought to himself, climbing into his bed. _Yes... Sleep should do the trick... _

==================================

It was dark. Dark, and eerie. Not a single object could be seen in miles. Kurama could barely see his own hands. _What... What am I doing here?_ He thought, slowly walking around, his feet leading him nowhere in particular. As he looked around him, trying to figure out what was going on, he heard voices, whispering to him and taunting.

"Liar"

"Traitor..."

"Deceiver..."

"Pretender..."

"You're existence is a _sham!_"

"NO!!" Kurama screamed, his voice echoing all around him. "It's not true! I'm not a fake!"

"Not a fake?" said a nearing shadow, its voice acidic. "How dare you say that to my face? Don't you remember me, _Suuichi?_"

Kurama's eyes widened in sudden recognition. "Kur... Kur..."

The shadow, now surrounded by a dark purple aura that revealed its features, smirked at Kurama's stuttering. "That's right. It's me, Kuronue. Your old buddy."

"But... But... You're _dead!_" Kurama cried out, utterly shocked.

"What? Aren't you happy to see me, Kurama-kun?" Kuronue teased. "Oh... How foolish of me, I forgot that you don't care about me anymore... You're denying your past..."

"Tha-that's not true!" Kurama stuttered. "I haven't forgotten... I still regret the day I left you behind! I'm sorry! I truly am!"

"Regret it, eh?" Kuronue sneered. "I thought you moved on... I thought you weren't Youko anymore..."

"I... I am!" Kurama yelled. "I'm still Youko, I'm just different now..."

"Still Youko? If you were still Youko, you wouldn't even _be_ in that pathetic human body! Liar!"

"Liar..."

"Traitor..."

"Deceiver..."

"Pretender..."

The voices echoed all around Kurama, making him nauseous and dizzy. He closed his eyes tight, but instead of the action blocking the voices out, the voices just got louder and louder, and images of Kuronue dying started entering his mind. Deep in panic, Kurama felt like he was falling, falling endlessly into a dark black hole with no end, being engulfed in shadows and darkness... _No!! _He thought, _I'm not a liar, I'm not a traitor, I'm not a deceiver, I'm not a pretender!!, _but despite those thoughts, Kurama kept falling, faster and faster and faster and faster until...

He woke up.

**Mwahahaha! I decided to end the chapter here. XP there's a cliffy for ya! Well, not really, but oh well. Hoped you liked the first chapter! Please review! **


	3. Chapter Two

**Morbid Identity Crisis**

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**By Shizuru of the Darkness Flame**

**I'm back with the second chapter! Yay! A bit of a long wait, but I had SOOOO much homework... Teachers just love to give us a HUGE load homework at the end of the year. It's so annoying! Argh! Anyways... Thanks to the people who reviewed! Not many, but I'm still happy. I didn't think this would get even ONE review... **

**Oh, and by the way, this story takes place after the dark tournament (didn't want to make it any later, since I haven't watched the later episodes in quite a while). Thought I should mention that. **

**Well, on with the story! **

Kurama woke up, the taunting voices still echoing in his head. His body and sheets were damp, and he was feeling slightly dizzy.

"A dream... It was all a dream..." Kurama tried to calm himself, but it wasn't working. He had always believed that dreams had a certain meaning... Why would this one be any different? _Nonsense,_ he thought. _It's stress, that's all. Kuronue is dead. He has been dead for years now, and he isn't coming back._

_What... You're happy about it now?_ The nagging voice in the deepest, darkest chambers of his head said. _I thought you said you regret leaving him behind to this day... Tsk tsk, you're lying again... _

Kurama shook his head from side to side quickly, trying to rid himself of the voice. _No... No... No... Don't listen... Don't listen... Don't listen..._

When the voice came back no more, he opened his eyes and looked out the window. In the horizon, a little bright line formed. Dawn was approaching. Kurama sighed. _I'd better get dressed..._ He thought, as he climbed out of bed and pulled a T-shirt and a pair of jeans out of his closet.

==================================

"WHAT?!" a loud voice could be heard coming from a small apartment in a rather shabby-looking building. "YOU'RE KIDDING!!"

"No, I'm afraid not, Yusuke." replied a cheery blue haired ferry girl by the name of Botan, although at the moment she didn't seem very cheery. "This one's a _very_ important task... Lord Enma will be furious with Koenma if it isn't completed."

"Yea, yea, whatever..." Yusuke said, obviously annoyed. "But why the hell does it have to be on _my _three day weekend?!"

Botan shrugged, which made Yusuke even angrier. "Yeesh, it must be your job or something to make my life miserable..." he muttered to himself bitterly.

"Aww, c'mon Urameshi! It's another chance for us to be heroes!" Kuwabara said, and laughed oafishly. (A/N: I don't hate Kuwabara or anything... He just has an oafish laugh. ::sweatdrop::).

Botan frowned a little, while Yusuke muttered something that sounded like "heroes my ass". "You shouldn't be over-confident, Kuwabara... You two have a pretty tough mission ahead of you."

"We've already beat the Toguro brothers! What could be tougher than _that_?!" Kuwabara exclaimed self-assuredly.

"Oh, believe me, there are quite a few demons that could beat him..." said Botan nervously. "Quite a few indeed..."

At the thought of demons that were even stronger than the Toguro brothers, Kuwabara gulped, and even Yusuke looked worried. "So... What do we have to do?" he asked.

"Just be at Genkai's temple at 9:30 PM sharp. Oh, and tell Kurama and Hiei to come too."

==================================

"Good morning, Suuichi!"

"Good morning mother..." 'Suuichi' replied to his mother's cheery voice, himself a little weary.

Shiori flipped the pancake she was making. "You sound tired... Is something wrong, dear?"

"No, no, not at all..."

_Pfft. Lying. Lying again. And you say you've changed... _

_I... I have... It's just a small white lie... I simply don't want to worry her..._

Shiori flipped the pancake over again, took it off the pan, put it on a plate, and set it on the table.

_Just a little white lie, you say? But where, pray tell, will it go from there? More thieving, I suppose?_

_Thieving? You... You know I'd never go back to thieving... _

_Hah! I laugh at you're ignorance. Do you really think the Youko in you will lay dormant until your pathetic human life ends? He's bound to take over sooner or later..._

_Never! I have control over myself, you know. I don't succumb to urges and desires that easily._

"Would you like some maple syrup with that?"

"Yes please..."

_You have control over you're human side maybe, but you remember what demon urges are like, don't you?_

_Yes..._

_And do you truly believe that the human in you will have the power to resist them...? _

_It might..._

_It won't._

_It's possible..._

_It isn't._

_I guess not..._

Kurama blinked. He didn't just think that, did he? No. He couldn't have given in. Of course it's possible for the human in him to resist Youko's urges. Very possible, in fact. Humans can be very strong willed... Yusuke and Kuwabara have proven that long ago._ And anyways, the human part of me is much more in control than the Youko part. Actually, who says I even _have _a Youko part? That part probably left long ago. Otherwise, I'd be in Makai._

_...Right?_

Shiori looked into her son's emerald eyes as he ate his breakfast slowly. _He seems... Troubled,_ She thought. _I wonder why he isn't telling me what's wrong? Oh well, it must be something very small... Suuichi has always been such a good boy. Always honest, always responsible._ She smiled to herself, unaware of the battle Kurama was having within his mind.

==================================

A little boy, probably only three years old, rode his tricycle down the path of a green, well-kept park with many tall trees scattered around it. Hiei happened to be resting on a particularly tall oak tree that stood by the path, its trunk high and wide and its branches thick and proud. _Ningenkai... It's so dull._ He thought to himself, bored out of his mind. _Really... Why did I bother staying here anyways? Stupid fox..._ After the tournament, when the members of the Reikai Tantei were heading home, Kurama had convinced Hiei to stay in the human world for a little bit. Why? Kurama had never told him, but Hiei assumed he just wanted him around. He continued to lazily watch the boy, who, unfortunately for him, ran over a large rock, which caused him to fall of his tricycle and bump his helmet-less head. The boy cried, and his mother ran to him and picked him up, brushing the dust off his curly jet black hair. _Stupid human infant..._ Hiei thought. He took another look at the mother, who was now gently quieting the child. _Hmph. I don't see why Kurama needs someone like _her _around. He can take perfect care of himself. But then again, it isn't as if I know what it's like... _

Hiei jumped off the tree, and landed swiftly on the ground below. Dashing through the park, only seen as a blackish blur, he decided to go to Kurama's house. _He said something about a three day weekend, and I have nothing better to do in this stupid place... _He thought to himself a little sourly. _I don't see what that fox sees in it... Damned humans have completely corrupted him... _

Deep down, though, Hiei knew he liked Kurama better now that he had become more human. As Youko, Kurama never truly cared about anyone. And although Hiei hated to admit it, it felt good to be cared for...

==================================

Kurama was trying once more (and failing miserably) to focus on his Algebra homework, when a knock on the door was heard. Since Shiori was out buying groceries, Kurama headed downstairs and opened the door himself. At the entrance stood a very annoyed teenage boy with black, slightly spiky hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a green school uniform.

"Yusuke... I didn't expect to see _you_ here." Kurama said, letting him in. "Another mission, I suppose?"

Yusuke seemed to still be a little angry from his conversation with Botan. "Yep... I swear, if this whole mission-on-a-three-day-weekend deal happens one more time, I'm gonna pound that little toddler until his own dad can't recognize him!"

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle a little at the statement. After offering Yusuke to have a seat in the living room, he asked "So, what is it this time?"

"To be honest with ya, I have no idea." said Yusuke, anger leaving his voice and slight confusion coming in instead. "Botan told me to tell you and Hiei to be at Genkai's temple at 9:30 PM... Do you mind telling Hiei for me?"

Kurama nodded, confirming that he would. _Sounds important... And important usually means hard._ "Did Botan give you any more information?" he questioned.

"Nope." said Yusuke. "That's all she said... Sounds suspicious to me."

"Yes, it does, slightly..." Kurama agreed. "I'm assuming Kuwabara will be accompanying us as well?"

"Yea, as usual. No idea why he does though, it's not like he has to... Well, I gotta go meet Keiko. She's making me go shopping with her..." the young teen grunted in annoyance. "See ya later!" he said, running out the front door. Kurama waved at him as he headed towards the shopping center. _He seems so carefree... _Kurama idly thought to himself.

Shiori entered the room. "Who was that boy in green?" she questioned Kurama.

"Oh, that was just Yusuke, a friend of mine... He just dropped by to tell me to meet him at 9:30 somewhere."

"Where would that be?"

"Just his house... For homework." he added hastily, before Shiori could ask.

"That late?" she seemed confused.

"Yes... He's a bit busy today, and it's the earliest he can... We're doing a project for Science together."

"Oh, OK." said Shiori, smiling a little. _Still on top of his studies, I see... _"Do you mind helping me make dinner?"

"Not at all..." Kurama said, getting off the sofa and heading to the kitchen, feeling a bit on the guilty side.

==================================

After helping out a little with dinner, Kurama walked up to his room and took out a novel. He figured he'd probably have a hard time focusing on his homework, so he decided to read. Taking out the bookmark and opening his book, he continued from where he had last left off.

(A/N: note that the following is from a real book, a book called The Girl Death Left Behind by Lurlene McDaniel. Everything from that book will be between (())'s)

((Sunlight falling through the stained-glass windows cast colors over the caskets and flowers. The scene should have been pretty. It wasn't. It looked staged, as if some celestial lighting director had rigged the whole thing. Illusion... It was all illusion. Even the organ music sounded forlorn and desolate.))

_Illusion... Now, what does that remind you of? Hmm? _A pestering voice in the back of Kurama's head teased._ The Girl Death Left Behind, huh? Leaving death behind... Sounds a bit familiar as well._

Kurama closed his eyes tight. _Please... Go away..._

_Stop trying to push the truth away. You know you cheated death... Instead of leaving peacefully when your time was up, you escaped into this pitiful thing you call a body, only to pretend you're something you're not for years to come..._

_No, no, no... Leave me alone... I'm not pretending, this is my life now! _

_Life? You call this act a _life?_ Dear gods, you're still trying to deceive yourself? To hide from the truth? My, my... _

_I'm not hiding, I'm running forward... _

_Running forward to avoid your past, maybe... _

_No!! It's not true, stop telling me that... Leave... Go away... _

A window opened. A light thump was heard.

"...Hiei?"

"I got bored. This dull world you call home is rather tedious."

Despite his earlier bothersome sub-conscious thoughts, Kurama smiled. He was happy to see Hiei, as usual. "Would you like me to get you something to eat or drink?"

Hiei's eyes lit up for a second, but he immediately took control of his emotions, not wanting to ruin his image (something that bothered Kurama a bit, but he assumed Hiei would get over it, eventually). "Do you have any more of that sweet snow stuff?"

Kurama chuckled. He knew the little demon would ask him that. "Yes, actually, I do. Strawberry or chocolate flavored?"

"Chocolate."

"Be right back."

Kurama headed downstairs, entered the kitchen, and took the carton of chocolate ice cream from the freezer, scooping part of its contents up with a spoon and putting them in a little glass bowl. After returning the ice cream to its rightful spot, he headed back up the stairs and handed the bowl to Hiei, who grabbed the bowl immediately and started eating from it as if his life depended on it.

Suddenly, Kurama remembered what Yusuke had told him to do.

"Hiei, we have a new mission." he said.

Hiei stopped 'feasting' for a moment and looked up, his lower face half brown.

"Yusuke stopped by today to tell me to meet him at Genkai's temple at 9:30 PM. He wanted me to tell you to come too. Apparently, we'll be told what to do over there."

"Hmph. I wonder what the toddler wants from us now."

"From the sound of it, it's something serious."

Hiei put his now empty bowl of ice cream down, licked what remained of it off his face, and faced Kurama again. "How serious?"

"I don't know, it's just an assumption. I've told you everything Yusuke told me. He doesn't seem to have a clue about the mission himself."

Hiei glanced at the watch that hung on Kurama's wall. Kurama had recently taught him to tell time the way humans do, despite the fact that Hiei complained and kept insisting he didn't need it. "Well, we'd better leave if you don't want to be rushing like mad. You seem a bit tired."

Kurama smiled at Hiei's consideration. "Let's go."

The two walked down the stairs, and stepped out of Kurama's house, heading towards Genkai's temple and expecting one of the regular life risking missions they normally got from Koenma. But little did they know, this one wasn't 'normal' at all...

**Oooh, wonder what task Koenma has for them this time... Next chapter, you'll find out, but not all of it. ::wink:: **

**Not much of a dark chapter, I know, but trust me, angst lovers... It's going to get darker. _A lot_ darker. I know this chapter sucked (it was kind of a 'filler' chapter, in a way... sorry, I needed to put it in!), but please review! Reviews make me update faster, and reviewers get a waffle :)**


	4. Chapter Three

**Morbid Identity Crisis**

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**By Shizuru of the Darkness Flame**

**Ack..!! I haven't updated in so long!! Sorry peoples, I had a major case of writers block -.-;; I hate it when that happens... Anyways, here's the next chapter! Hope you like it... It's pretty much going to reveal the "mysterious" mission the Reikai Tantei got from Botan-chan... Sort of, anyways. Hehehe, I'm still leaving some parts in the darkness ::wink:: **

"Ningenkai is very pretty in the night, isn't it?"

"Hmph... I prefer Makai nights, Ningenkai is far too bright."

Hiei and Kurama walked slowly down the concrete sidewalks of the human world, their destination only a few blocks away. The moon was particularly bright that night, and it lit up the raven sky along with glittering silvery-white specks of luminosity.  

"But you have to admit, the moon looks wonderful. It never glows that beautifully in Makai, does it?"

"My point exactly. I liked it better when it was distant."

Kurama sighed. _Stubborn one,_ he thought. He stopped in his tracks a moment to look up at the sky. As he looked at the many patterns the stars created, he found one that surprisingly resembled a dragon.

"Look up there, Hiei. Look at that cluster of stars, over to the left. What do you see?"

Hiei rolled his eyes at the fox, wondering what the hell he was doing, then focused on the spot Kurama was pointing to, trying to figure out what excited him so much.

"I see... Spots. Spots of light. What else would I see?"

"Look closer Hiei..."

Hiei squinted his eyes, and concentrated once more. "A fox." he said. "I see a fox."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "A... Fox? It looks more like a dragon to me."

"No, see? There's the bushy tail, and the pointed ears, and the paws..."

"No, no, that's a wing! And those are the spikes on its back, and the fangs..."

"What are you talking about? Those aren't fangs, those are the ears!"

Kurama chuckled. "Well, I guess you can look at it that way too." he said, as he and Hiei passed a run-down shack surrounded with junk and litter.

After a few moments of silence, Kurama spoke again. "You know... It is said that people see what they want to see in the stars."

Hiei looked up in interest.

"It is also said that they avoid seeing what they do not want to see..."

_Does that mean I didn't want to see the fox...?_

Hiei smirked. "Must be the reason humans are so ignorant. If they only see what they want to see, then half of what exists probably isn't known to them at all."

_Maybe I'm the one who's being ignorant... Am I really ignoring my past? Am I avoiding seeing what I do not want to see? _

Burying his thoughts away, Kurama put on a teasingly-fake hurt tone. "You know Hiei, I'm a human."

"No, you're not. You're still a little bit of Youko."

_...A little bit of Youko? But in what way? Am I really still a bit of a heartless thief, a liar, a cheater? _

Kurama decided not to think about it any further. _I shouldn't be troubling myself with these useless thoughts when we've got a mission ahead of us... I've got responsibilities, after all... _

_Responsibilities? What responsibilities? You don't really have to help, you know. You've already done enough to pay for helping steal the artifacts of darkness... Why don't you just leave the others? _

_Leave the others? I may have paid for my crimes, but this has become my duty now! I'm a member of the Reikai Tantei! _

_Pfft. You wouldn't even _be _a member if you didn't steal the forlorn hope... See? You got to where you are by thieving. _

_No... No... No..._

"We're here." Hiei remarked flatly.

"Oh, uh, yes..." Kurama said, snapping out of his earlier train of thought.

Hiei looked at Kurama suspiciously.

"Err, what? I was just thinking about... Something."

Hiei continued to stare at Kurama suspiciously for a few seconds, then dashed up the ridiculous amount of stairs that stood before Genkai's temple. Kurama followed, trying to catch up with the little demon's speed.

"Yeesh, what took ya?" Yusuke greeted the two at the top of the stairs. "And I thought _I _was late!"

Kurama smiled apologetically. "Sorry Yusuke."

"Yea, yea, whatever, let's just get over with this..." Yusuke yawned. "I really don't feel like being lectured for three million hours at ten in the night..." he mumbled as he entered the large temple, Hiei and Kurama following.

"There you two are!" Botan jumped as she saw the three enter. "It isn't like you to be late, I was starting to worry you would miss this mission!" she said, perhaps a little too energetically for such an hour.

"Hello." Yukina said quietly, waving lightly at the pair. Kurama smiled and waved back, then looked down at Hiei. He did the same, and for once, he let a genuine smile grace his features. _He really cares for his sister, doesn't he? _Kurama thought to himself. _How sweet, it's just too bad he won't tell her who he really is... _

Kuwabara was sitting beside Yukina (as usual), his eyes never leaving her. At the sight of this, Hiei growled slightly, but kept quiet in order to avoid any possible suspicion that might arise. He then walked across the room and sat by a window, a bit far from everyone else. Kurama sat cross-legged by Yusuke, and silence fell on the room as Genkai and teenage Koenma entered, both looking a bit worried.

"I see you're all here." Genkai acknowledged dryly. A moment after she entered, Yukina left the room.

"Where're you goin', Yukina-chan?" Kuwabara asked immediately, as Yusuke rolled his eyes and Hiei growled again.

"I've got some chores to do," Yukina said as she walked off to another room, "and I'm sure it's not my place to be here if you're all going to discuss missions."   

Kuwabara frowned at the ruby-eyed girl, then turned to Koenma, who was trying to catch everyone's attention.

"Ahem." Koenma said, obviously trying to appear very dignified. "Listen up, everyone. We've got a new mission."

"Gee, who would've known?" Yusuke said sarcastically.

"Shut up Yusuke, we don't have any time for your wise cracks. This is very serious. An extremely powerful demon has just escaped from Makai into Ningenkai, and he has been going from city to city, slaughtering humans at random and collecting their souls to sell in the Makai black market. So far, there have been around fifty humans dead. Although, this demon appears to be very intelligent, so he has been making the deaths seem regular. This is why the media in Ningenkai hasn't caught on yet."

"Making the deaths seem... Regular?" Kuwabara questioned. "How do the hell do you make random deaths seem regular?!"

"Well," Koenma said, "the demon has been attacking sick people who can't afford doctors, seniors, and newborns. Also, he has been setting up accidents that look normal, such as someone falling off a tall building or misusing a sharp or dangerous object of some sort."

"That's horrible!" Kuwabara said, utterly disgusted. "But how does he do all that stuff without being noticed?!"

Koenma sighed. "The demon doesn't actually need to set the humans up physically to kill them. All he needs to do is take possession of their souls, which apparently, he has the power to do. This is a very rare power, and the only ones who could've taught this demon to use it died centuries ago, which tells us that he is indeed, very old. Anyways, the demon takes possession of the souls, and makes the humans die one way or another. Then, when the souls leave the body, he makes them come to him, thus preventing them from being lead by Botan to Reikai, and sells them in the black market, where many soul eating demons are eager to buy them."

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked horrified. Kurama, who had come across this sort of thing but now disapproved of it, lowered his eyes and shook his head slowly from side to side. Hiei, of course, kept a poker face.

"So..." Yusuke said hesitantly. "Where do we start searching for this guy?"

"We don't know..." Koenma said. "This demon is very good at masking his energy. He's very hard to track down. We've last seen him around Tokyo, but we're not sure."

"Well, what _do _you know?!" Yusuke replied, slightly angered.  

"We know that this demon is a fox demon, much like Kurama." Koenma said, and everyone turned their eyes to the redhead, who felt slightly uncomfortable. "As I said, he should be centuries old, because he has power to possess and control souls. The demon is supposed to be very tall, have black fox ears, navy blue hair, and dark purple eyes, but that information was only attained by listening to rumors that have been going around Makai, so we are not very sure. His name is supposed to be Tsuchikage." (A/N: doesn't Tsuchikage mean earth shadow? My guess is based on a Naruto book... ::sweatdrop:: someone tell me if I'm wrong...)

At the sound of the demon's name, Kurama went pale and his forest green eyes widened, his mind unable to comprehend what Koenma just said.

_Tsuchikage? It... It can't be!! I thought... This can't be happening... _

"You OK, Kurama?" Yusuke asked the redhead, slightly worried.

Kurama snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Yusuke, a panicky look on his face. "Y-yes... Yes, I'm fine..." he mumbled.

Koenma stared at Kurama suspiciously. "Do you happen to _know _this Tsuchikage guy?" he asked.

"No! I mean, err, n-not really... I've heard of him, b-but I d-don't really _know _h-him..." Kurama continued to stutter, face still pale, eyes unfocused.

Koenma raised an eyebrow at the fox's strange behavior. "OK then... Well, that's it. I suppose you can all go now. Just be sure to try tracking him down soon, OK? This is very serious, because not only is this demon killing many people, he is also disrupting the natural process of souls going to Reikai, which could lead to severe chaos over there. I'd rather you all get started on this case tomorrow, in the morning even."

==================================

"So... We meet at my house tomorrow at 9:00 AM, and take a bus to Tokyo from there?" Kuwabara asked.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Yusuke said. "Hiei?"

"Hn."

"Whatever. Kurama?"

Kurama stayed silent and continued gazing at the sky with wondering eyes, walking a little behind the rest of the group. _It can't be... There's no way Tsuchikage is in Ningenkai... Koenma must've gotten the name wrong... After all, he said he wasn't sure, right?_

"...Kurama?"

_But then again... When I last saw him, Tsuchikage _did _say he was mastering an ancient technique... But it can't be, there's no way he could learn how to do it so fast! It's impossible, isn't it?_

"...Kurama!"

_But mastering the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was also said to be impossible, and Hiei mastered it... Oh Inari, this is horrible... _

"Oi, Kurama!!" Yusuke waved his hand in front of Kurama's face. "You gonna say anything?"

Kurama continued to think for a moment, but when he realized Yusuke was trying to get his attention, he immediately jumped and snapped back into reality.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just... Thinking... What were we talking about?"

Yusuke sweatdropped. "Umm, we were saying that we were gonna meet at Kuwabara's house at 9:00 AM tomorrow, and leave for Tokyo from there." he said, a bit confused with Kurama's uncharacteristic lack of alertness. _What's up with _him? _Maybe he knows something the rest of us don't...?  _

"Alright." Kurama said. "I'll be there."

"Cool." Yusuke said, and headed off in a separate direction with Kuwabara, both walking to their houses.

When they were out of earshot, Hiei immediately turned to Kurama and stated, "You know this Tsuchikage person, don't you?"

"I don't know what your talking a-about Hiei..." Kurama said nervously.

"You stuttered." the other remarked dryly.

"It's cold outside." Kurama countered.

"You're wearing a jacket."

"That doesn't mean I can't be cold, you know."

"Hn, whatever you say. But if you want to tell anyone... You know who to come to." Hiei said, before zipping off to the park.

Kurama stood where he was and blinked, surprised at Hiei's words. _Did... Did he just offer me support? _Kurama asked himself inside his head. _Wow... He sure has changed. _On a normal occasion, Kurama would be happy about this, but this certainly wasn't a normal occasion. Kurama was still worried about Tsuchikage, and the whole mission made him queasy with uncertainty, and even fear. And on top of all that, that irritating voice in the back of Kurama's head kept bugging him, never letting him be...

_A little white lie, you said. Just a little white lie. But where, pray tell, will it go from there? For how long are you going to continue to lie, lie until everyone dear to you figures out you're a liar and abandons you?  _

_...For how long Kurama? For how long?_

**...And chapter three is done! Yay! I actually kinda like this one... Much better than my other chapters, in my opinion... Mwahaha, and it has a cliffy-ish ending too. But whether it's good or not is up to you guys to decide... So please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update! And plus, reviewers get their very own copy of Hiei. ::smiles:: **

**Hiei: what's that supposed to mean?!**

**Duuuh, didn't you know? I found a copying machine, so now I can copy you! ::grins:: this should make me some money...**

**Hiei: -.-;; um, Shizuru, those only copy _paper._ Even I know that. **

**Oh, um... ::sweatdrop:: sorry then, you'll just have to stick to peanut butter cookies! See ya next chapter! (I hope). **


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